


The One in the Library

by thestanceyg



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Library, F/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2019-02-12 16:30:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12963597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thestanceyg/pseuds/thestanceyg
Summary: A quick meet cute in a library.**Podfic option in notes**





	The One in the Library

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shuofthewind](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shuofthewind/gifts).



> For Shu because exam time is rough.
> 
> Many thanks to HKThauer for beta-ing!
> 
> If you want to listen to my voice read this to you, a 6 minute podcast version [can be found here.](http://www.mediafire.com/file/09dn5a1hznmd2c9/The_One_in_the_Library.wav)

Darcy stared at her book, the words swimming on the page. She had been studying for the last five hours, which wasn’t long, but also was clearly getting to her. She sighed and looked up, stretching a bit in her chair, debating the best study break method. Finals started tomorrow, and she wasn’t going to waste her precious remaining hours before her first (and hardest) test. She let her eyes roam the library. Most of the usual suspects were there, which was how she found the perfect study break. Three tables ahead and one to the right was the main reason she had started studying in the library. She didn’t know his name, so she just called him Library Boy.

Library Boy was most often there in the evening, a giant stack of books on his table that he would whizz through at a speed that seemed inhuman, but she had heard him talking with some other students, and it was clear that he actually could read that fast.

She was fascinated.

She loved to study the way he bent over a book, his finger running across the lines before flicking a page and starting anew. The way his lips would turn up in amusement or his brow would crease until a few lines later it cleared up. He would bite his lip in the most adorable way, pausing a moment to push up the sleeves of his cardigan (he seemed to wear a lot of them), and his hair would fall into his eyes and he would brush it back behind his ear.

She sounded like a pining idiot.

She  _ was _ a pining idiot.

She sighed a little and rested her chin on her hand as she watched him read. She’d watch until he was done with this book and then get back to hers. It wouldn’t be more than a few minutes, and she would be ready to get back to it. Her eyes lingered over him, memorizing the details of him. When he closed his book, she pulled hers back toward her and turned her eyes back toward the page. The words were no longer a swimming mess of letters. She looked at her phone. She would stay here for another three hours, go home and sleep for six, and then get in another two hours of studying before the test. Maybe she should make a schedule to stay on track. She flipped to the table of contents and contemplated if pages or chapters were the better units to break things up.

A shadow fell over her book and she looked up. Now sitting across from her was Library Boy.

“Hi!” he whispered, his hand shooting up in a tiny wave, and a smile on his face.

“Hi,” she whispered back with her own smile. She was terrified he was about to tell her to stop stalking him, but his smile was infectious.

“You’re here a lot.” She nodded. “I am too, but you already knew that.”

“I did,” she said slowly, seeing no reason to lie.

“Why don’t you ever talk to me?” She studied his face for a moment. He seemed genuinely curious. He must have mistaken her silence for something else because he added, “You do want to talk to me, right?”

“I do, but I didn’t want to bother you. You’re always so busy.” She paused for a moment, her eyes casting about the space for before adding, “Also, I didn’t think you’d noticed me at all.”

“You thought I wouldn’t notice the girl that watches me read as a study break?” She felt her cheeks turn red. “Did you not notice I did the same thing?”

“I...what? No? You…?” She found herself unable to get out a coherent thought.

“I thought you might not have. You seem to get very focused when you study.”

“I, err, do?”

“But it’s finals week and I didn’t want to waste what might have been my last chance.”

“Last chance?” she repeated dumbly.

“To talk to you.”

Darcy looked down at her book and shut it. “Do you like coffee?”

“I love coffee.”

“Perfect. I know a place a few blocks from here that’s open late all finals week.”

“Don’t you need to study?”

Well, yes, she did. But she also didn’t want to lose this opportunity. She could do an hour for coffee and then sleep for just five hours…

“We could schedule the coffee?” he asked, cutting into her thoughts. “I don’t want to stop your studying, I just knew I might not see you again.” He looked hopeful.

“One condition,” she said, feeling like he probably wouldn’t stand her up.

“Name it.”

“Tell me your name. I can’t keep calling you Library Boy.”

He smiled. “Spencer. And I confess I’ve been calling you Juliet. The light from the skylight falls on you when the moon is right.”

“You’re close. My name  _ is  _ a literary reference, but it’s a bit newer than Shakespeare. I’m Darcy.” They smiled goofily at each other for a second before she said, “So...coffee?”

“Right. Yes!” He stammered. “When’s good for you?”

“This exam will be over at noon tomorrow,” she said, patting the cover of her book. “So maybe 1?”

“1 works for me,” he said with a nod. “Shall we meet here? Then you can show me the great coffee shop you know.”

“That sounds perfect.”

He smiled again and stood up. “I’ll see you here tomorrow at 1, Juliet. Good luck on your exam.”

“Thanks Library Boy,” she said with a matching smile. She watched as he went back to his table and gathered up his things. He shot a knowing smile at her when he caught her doing it. He waved goodbye, and then she was back to her books. This had to be a sign. She was going to do well on this test because there was no way she was going to go into a dream date with a raincloud over her head. She opened her book back up. She had work to do.


End file.
